When the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art received an initial appropriation of $165,000 in November from the Boulder City Council to upgrade disability access, it decided to undertake other improvements to its city-owned 1906 building at the same time.
Among them was an upgrade to its entry reception area and gift shop. The only problem? Not enough money.
Riding to the rescue was the Design-Build Program, a community outreach initiative at the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning.
The program agreed to undertake the design and execution of the project for the bargain price of $15,000. Rick Sommerfeld, senior instructor and associate chairman of the department of architecture, estimates it would have cost as much as $100,000 otherwise.
In two weeks, 20 graduate students designed and carried out most of the construction of an offset stainless steel and wood reception desk, three mobile partitions and a sleek wall divider that provides inset, back-lit display alcoves for the gift shop and delivers an uninterrupted expanse for the display of art on the other side.
“It was like ‘Extreme Makeover Home Edition’,” said Sommerfeld. “It was insane.”
The university raised $7,500 toward the cost, and the museum scrounged up the other $7,500. In addition, several area companies, including Buckner Construction and Studio NYL Structural Engineers, donated supplies and services.
“I still can’t believe we did it for $15,000,” Sommerfeld said.
The total cost of the four-month renovation, which included reinforcement of the second floor and fire-safety upgrades, was $290,000.
Kyle MacMillan
